33 Subject-Verb Agreement

Subjects and verbs are at work in almost every statement you make, and you make them agree effortlessly most of the time. Look, for instance, at three sentences taken from a recent broadcast of a baseball game.

The pitcher powers another blistering curveball over the plate.

The Yanks move on to Milwaukee tomorrow.

The duel of the no-hitters continues into the eighth.

Take time to listen to someone reporting an event—a play-by-play announcer, perhaps, or an on-the-scene reporter. Note some of the subject-verb combinations. Do you find any that don’t sound right, that might not agree?

Editing for Subject-Verb Agreement

AT A GLANCE

  • Identify the subject that goes with each verb. Cover up any words between the subject and the verb to identify agreement problems more easily. (33b)
  • Check compound subjects. Those joined by and usually take a plural verb. With those subjects joined by or or nor, however, the verb agrees with the part of the subject closer or closest to the verb. (33c)
  • Check collective-noun subjects. These nouns take a singular verb when they refer to a group as a single unit, but they take a plural verb when they refer to the multiple members of a group. (33d)
  • Check indefinite-pronoun subjects. Most take a singular verb. Both, few, many, others, and several take a plural verb, and all, any, enough, more, most, none, and some can be either singular or plural. (33e)